3of18District Seven Supervisor Norman Yee exits momentarily during public comment before a vote for the new president of the Board of Supervisors. Yee won the position.Photo: Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle

4of18District Nine Supervisor Hillary Ronen was initially in contention with Norman Yee for president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.Photo: Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle

5of18District 9 supervisor Hillary Ronen exits momentarily during public comment before a Board of Supervisors vote to elect its new president at City Hall on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019, in San Francisco, Calif. Ronen and District 7 supervisor Norman Yee were both nominated for the position.Photo: Santiago Mejia, The Chronicle

6of18Ace Washington at the podium for public comment before the Board of Supervisors vote to elect its new board president at City Hall on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019, in San Francisco, Calif.Photo: Santiago Mejia, The Chronicle

7of18District 10 supervisor Shamann Walton during public comment before a Board of Supervisors vote to elect its new president at City Hall on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019, in San Francisco, Calif.Photo: Santiago Mejia, The Chronicle

8of18Mayor London Breed congratulates the new president of the Board of Supervisors Norman Yee at City Hall on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019, in San Francisco, Calif.Photo: Santiago Mejia, The Chronicle

9of18From left with their right hand up: Catherine Stefani, Gordon Mar, Matt Haney, Rafael Mandelman and Shamann Walton are sworn in to the Board of Supervisors at City Hall on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019, in San Francisco, Calif.Photo: Santiago Mejia, The Chronicle

10of18The new president of the Board of Supervisors Norman Yee with Mayor London Breed at City Hall on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019, in San Francisco, Calif.Photo: Santiago Mejia, The Chronicle

11of18District 9 supervisor Hillary Ronen during public comment before a Board of Supervisors vote to elect its new president at City Hall on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019, in San Francisco, Calif. Ronen and District 7 supervisor Norman Yee were both nominated for the position.Photo: Santiago Mejia, The Chronicle

12of18Mayor London Breed congratulates the new president of the Board of Supervisors Norman Yee at City Hall on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019, in San Francisco, Calif.Photo: Santiago Mejia, The Chronicle

13of18The president of the Board of Supervisors Norman Yee at City Hall on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019, in San Francisco, Calif.Photo: Santiago Mejia, The Chronicle

14of18District 2 supervisor Catherine Stefani (right) and her family are emotional as she gives her first public speech as supervisor at City Hall on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019, in San Francisco, Calif.Photo: Santiago Mejia, The Chronicle

15of18District 11 supervisor Ahsha Safa� gives remarks before a vote by the Board of Supervisors to elect its new president of the board at City Hall on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019, in San Francisco, Calif.Photo: Santiago Mejia, The Chronicle

16of18District 1 supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer gives remarks before a vote by the Board of Supervisors to elect its new president of the board at City Hall on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019, in San Francisco, Calif.Photo: Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle

17of18District 11 supervisor Ahsha Safa� gives remarks before a vote by the Board of Supervisors to elect its new president of the board at City Hall on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019, in San Francisco, Calif.Photo: Santiago Mejia, The Chronicle

18of18From left: Mayor London Breed congratulates the new president of the Board of Supervisors Norman Yee at City Hall on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019, in San Francisco, Calif.Photo: Santiago Mejia, The Chronicle

District Seven Supervisor Norman Yee was elected president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday in a 10-1 vote that came after long public comment — mostly in favor of his opponent, Hillary Ronen.

The election was job No. 1 for the board after its three new members — District 10 Supervisor Shamann Walton, District Six Supervisor Matt Haney and District Four Supervisor Gordon Mar — were sworn in. But Tuesday’s swift, cordial 10-1 vote to name District Seven Supervisor Norman Yee president of the board by acclamation was a deceptive indicator of whether the board was unified about the choice.

The decision to elect Yee, the board’s most senior member, came after much political jousting between the board’s 11 members, who have spent the past few months discussing, arguing and striking deals with one another — mostly behind closed doors — over who should take the reins. While the role is largely administrative, the board president is next in line to the mayor and also has power to shape how legislation moves through the board.

“We can find common ground,” Yee said in his first official remarks as president. “The people of San Francisco are demanding action. And I know with my 10 intelligent colleagues there are policies we can agree on without sacrificing our integrity.”

Related Stories

Before the vote, about two hours’ worth of public commenters urged the board to elect Ronen president. They hailed her as the best candidate for the position because of her dedication to the community, hard work, integrity and strong progressive values. Some of them also brought up the sexism they say Ronen had been subjected to in the run-up to the election.

About a dozen speakers came out for Yee.

“I’ve been told that I’m too difficult. I’ve been told I’m too crazy. I’ve been told I can’t compromise,” Ronen said before the board took its vote while wearing a black shirt that said “Difficult” in pink script letters, a jab at the insults she said have been hurled at her over the past few months. “Which, by the way, is bulls—.”

But the cascade of comments held no sway over the supervisors, who had decided on their votes before the meeting.

First they voted 7-4 to elect Yee, with Haney, Mar, Walton and Ronen herself voting for Ronen. Then Mar asked to rescind that vote and elect Yee by acclamation. The supervisors voted 10-1 in favor, with only Ronen dissenting.

Ronen later said her decision to vote for herself over Yee was more about principles than politics.

“Throughout this process, because of the sexism of my colleagues, I felt it was important to show women and girls that it is OK to stand up for yourself. It is OK not to back down. It is OK to openly advocate for yourself,” she said after the meeting. “It was a symbolic way to say that I was under attack and it was brutal, but I’m not backing down.”

Yee, who is taking over for termed-out Supervisor Malia Cohen, now must steer the largely progressive board in its dealings with Mayor London Breed — who may often have a different opinion on how to get things done. He tends to line up with the progressive side of the board on issues such as childhood education and social programs, areas that Yee, now 69, has worked in since his early 20s.

His first major task will be to make committee assignments, which impact how legislation is amended as it works its way to the full board for a vote. He said he will reach out to his colleagues Wednesday and ask them which committees they would like to serve on, and make final assignments in the coming days.

Yee, elected in 2012, has a reputation as measured, flexible and mild-mannered. He typically doesn’t crave the spotlight or conflict.

The election of a board president is always a scramble and often mired in tension. But several supervisors said there was a slightly different tone this time, as union leaders lobbied for their preferred candidates, while others felt the discussions were more about personality than politics. Up until Tuesday, the group also had a hard time rallying around one candidate, as a number of members — including Supervisor Rafael Mandelman and Walton — raised their hands for the position.

Shortly after the vote, Yee and some family and friends celebrated in his new office with cake, Jameson whiskey and lemonade. As he sat on his couch, surrounded by boxes and paintings waiting to be hung, he said his first goal is to bring the board back together after a long contentious few weeks.

Trisha Thadani is a City Hall reporter for The San Francisco Chronicle. She previously covered work-based immigration and local startups for the paper’s business section.

Thadani graduated from Boston University with a degree in journalism. Before joining The Chronicle, she held internships at The Boston Globe, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, and was a Statehouse correspondent for the Worcester Telegram & Gazette.